This is my favorite place in the Buttes - a hidden grotto. The park is completely man-made (opened April 1, 1867) and the 6th biggest inParis among some 600 parks.

A wonderful waterfall.

And babbling brook.

Instant serenity.

It's true I've only walked through about a 1/3 of the Buttes-Chaumont so perhaps I've missed these threatening, warring gangs Erlanger writes of. Or perhaps he's wrong on this point. Such a damning sentence and read by millions of readers makes me want to "get up and go to the window and shout,

If this one sentence can be so wrong what about all the other negative points Erlanger makes about Paris? Sure there is still dog poop on the streets but it's so much cleaner than it was years ago. In the 19th arr. the streets are sluiced down TWO TIMES A DAY - at 7 am and 9 pm at night. I never saw this in New York.

I do agree, after living here just 10 months, Paris is not the romantic haven I previously envisioned. For me it's a family-oriented town. There are so many kids in this town that it changes the tenor of a place, but in such a delightful way. Plus kids under 12 get into most events free here. Thusly creating the future museum-goers and art lovers Erlanger complains of. By the way Erlanger makes no mention of the 36 fabulous pools in Paris. My pool even has a skating rink. If you've been lucky enough to be a guest in Paris for five years, couldn't you leave more graciously without all this whinging?

44 comments:

Long time no talk to. Glad I stopped by today. I spent some time aux Buttes Chaumont with my son and nephew this summer. I did not notice gangs either.

Monsieur Erlanger seems to suffer from two well-known addictions: 1. The New York Times' predictable habit of criticizing every French 2. The Paris expat whining-moaning-bitching syndrome (Ah, the French bureaucracy... blah-blah-blah... Poop on the sidewalks... blah-blah-blah... Arrogant Parisians... blah-blah-blah... Overpriced restaurants... blah-blah-blah... Nasty waiters... blah-blah-blah...) When in doubt, stick to stereotypes!

I have not read his article, and based on your story, I probably won't. So he has left Paris, and "Il crache dans la soupe," eh?

Quelle surprise! Glad you, at least, are still enjoying the big crazy city. Enjoy it for us both, s'il vous plaît. Veronique (French Girl in Seattle)

Good for you for moving to Paris and making your dream come true! I was in Paris for 4 months, I just came home last week and I loved it, but I came back to California for the winter. I was in Buttes-Chaumont, very charming, peaceful place. So much propoganda in the news, people asked me if everyone speaks Arabic now in Paris. Oh please!!

Carol is so much more than a patisserie loving artist, and that is the secret of the universal appeal of her writing, be it her character, her background, her literacy, and not least her nobleness of heart.

Thank you, Carol, for sharing your experience and opinion about Paris and that beautiful park in particular! Unfortunately, it seems to be a specialty of some journalists who suffer the hardship of having to work in European cities to go and seek out the negative. What are they thinking? Negative equals news? (All things beautiful already reported by ordinary people?)

I remember an article about Vienna in the same paper that made me really upset, back when I was still fairly new and did not understand yet that negative news apparently is what's selling articles. Here's my rant, from back in 2008: http://www.viennaforbeginners.com/2008/06/state-of-art.html

I always wonder if these writers ever talk to real people, people who know a place intimately, the up and the down sides, who can balance and explain what is really going on behind the scenes.

I have lived in Paris for ten years and when I first arrived I thought it was a paradise and it still is in some ways however underneath all the glitter it is a troubled city which one doesn't notice until a pickpocket gets your wallet which happened to me twice. I agree with the opinion of the writer.

I am with you on this Carol ,, I have friends that live in the area of the parc and I have never heard anything about gangs !!! I am sure they would of mentioned it too me at some point .. I was only there for a few hours once , and not a gang in sight!! Of course Paris has it's troubles like all major cities , , We will come over and help you on your soap box :-)

Sensational post Carol. I read this article a few days ago, and was very surprised at his opinions. Surely the bureau chief for the NYT in Paris would have a better time than that? Every city does have an underbelly, but his article just seemed like sour grapes.

I love the reports on Paris you give us. Yes Paris is not perfect but it is almost perfect to many of us who read your blog. The more I visit the more my glasses are "less rose colored" but that being said I still love all there is to LOVE about Paris. This reporter from the NYT wants to print what will sell and bad news sells. Your blog always gives us something positive to look forward to. You living your dream is wonderful. You are so fortunate you could do this. My dream will have to be to visit Paris when I can (13 visits so far). I will neaver be able to live there but when I do visit it is living my dream. Thanks for all you do for all of us Paris lovers! I have taken some of your good advice and seen some things you have told us about. Thanks again. There is enough negative in the world...lets talk about the good things!

Brava to you for calling out Steven Erlanger on his NYT article! I read the same article and was equally skeptical of the author's views. Parc Buttes-Chaumont is one of our favorites and we head back there every time we are in Paris. Any city has its warts, but I don't see them in the areas of Paris he was describing. I think he just has a case of sour grapes because he had to leave behind the most lovely city in the world!Peggy

Well stated,Carol! I did read his article as well as many of the comments posted in response. Any major city will suffer these problems of pick-pockets and "gangs"--my father and my hubbie were surrounded by a female group of pickers in Prague 15 years ago, I had a most unpleasant exchange with an immigrant boy playing tough kid in front of his gang on the Paris Metro last spring, as they all practiced their pick-pocketing skills in front of everyone. It happens, but that in no way grants license to paint Paris with such a broad brush. Is she perfect? No, but I will continue to adore her despite her shortcomings. x Katie

After doing a little digging, it seems this lovely park was indeed known as a mecca for gang wars and incidents of intercommunal violence. In fact, a young Jewish boy was brutally beaten there in 2008 by a gang. There are plenty of negative reveiws on Tripadvisor about a hotel nearby with writers complaining about gangs, noise and feeling generally unsafe at night. Other than a woman having a gold necklace yanked off her recently (and that can happen anywhere in Paris (as I know all too well) or elsewhere. The good news is that other than the stolen necklace, all this was written 2008 - 2010. So at least at somepoint, the article may contain some truths. Articles such as this one are only one person's opinion; no point in raising your blood pressure! If we didn't love Paris, we wouldn't be reading this blog, right? And one person's opinion is not about to change my mind!

To write about an incident that occurred 5 years ago in a paper read by millions of people?No, unacceptable.check out a 2012 crime report on Central Park herehttp://www.thecrimereport.org/news/inside-criminal-justice/2012-09-the-other-side-of-new-yorks-crime-decline"In the month of July (2012) alone, four people died and nine more were wounded in violent incidents in New York recreational areas"

I am glad you wrote about where you live..it is more educational than reading a book...you live in a very pretty and serene area....it is hard to find land for parks in Phoenix and Scottsdale...there is so much greed that there has to be a building of some sort on the properties....the Golden Gate Park is similar to Central Park, but here there is nothing ...of course we have duds running our cities... Aggressive to bring corporations and clog this area more...the air is filthy as we sit down in a valley so it's impossible to get rid of the dirt....we have dust storms that kill...and comes in the homes thru vents...and I am stuck here...Lynne

When I read Steve Erlanger's article, I wondered if it was somehow adifferent City from the one my wife Peggy and I had been visiting over thelast several decades. We have meandered in and around the ParcButtes-Chaumonte many times and have yet to see such roving gangs and theneighborhood seems to us to be pretty typical, nice areas. Thanks fortaking Steve on!Jim

What a lovely Park. Bummer about the nay sayer but never fear Carol rides to the rescue. :) I was interested to hear how your perception has changed of Paris living there awhile from romantic to family oriented. but I imagine the romantic seeps thru here and there. :)

I did have to laugh at his description of the "hideous Tour Montparnasse, which for decades has given skyscrapers a bad name here", as if NY is not full of skyscrapers blocking out the sky. At least in Paris they are much fewer and positioned outside the city centre so it is such a pleasant place to walk. I live in Australia and Sydney is almost as bad as NY with crowded narrow skyscraper city streets and there's more dog poo in my small country town than i ever saw in Paris.....as well as untrained surly young waitresses and gangs of kids high on meth roaming around at night, which doesn't make me love where i live any less but it is ridiculous for this journalist to take such easy and inaccurate potshots. There are some great comments from Parisiennes after his article btw. Thanks for an interesting diversion with this 'rant' Carol! :)

What a mean spirited thing to say about Paris! We need to unite! It is still the loveliest city in the world and where I have the most amazing memories with my 2 daughters. This could cause even more damage with our image and friendship with the French. I always try and be a good ambassador for the USA by being a good tourist. A good tourist doesn’t need to ask a million questions and dress like a bumpkin. My, my, what a rude American comment! You need to ask us all to write to a certain person at the NY Times so we all can counter this! Thanks for letting us know! All big cities have some things you need to be careful of. Thank you and keep going! Diane

I love Parc des Buttes-Chaumont and so do my kids. We've never encountered battling gangs there, but we've had great barbe à papa and taken in the beautiful views of the city. I love the fact that Parisians of all backgrounds and ages make use of the city's beautiful parks. It makes the city feel alive and less like the ivory prison Erlanger seems to have experienced. And I live near the périphérique and my son goes to school on the périphérique and it in no way resembles the Berlin Wall. I think Erlanger needed the leave the 16th more often.

Wow--I'm so glad you got up on your soapbox! I, too, read this Paris rant and found it to be very disquieting and possibly a deterrent to future Paris travelers. It made me apprehensive in certain respects about my planned return to Paris next year, i.e., which areas of the city would I not wish to venture into, much less stay, if I were traveling alone. My first trip to Paris last year made me very much want to return again, and I'm fully convinced I should not let people like Erlanger put a damper on my plans. Hopefully he suffered a lot of negative feedback as a result of his writing this article.

ParisBreakfast Letters

♥carol gillott♥

l'Ile Saint Louis, Paris, Ile de France, France

Hi I'm Carol Gillott,
My Mom taught me watercolors at 5. I'm still at it but now tripping over cobblestones on l'Ile Saint-Louis In Paris. Savor Parisbreakfast with a hot chocolate and croissant.
I paint Paris dreams.